Network operators constantly strive to improve the quality of their services in terms of QoS and QoE. QoE typically describes a quality perception from the perspective of a user, while QoS is normally not restricted to a user perception. As such, QoS enhancements often also lead to a better QoE.
In the current 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) architecture, QoS is supported via the so-called bearer concept. Starting from Release 7 for 3G and Release 8 for Long Term Evolution (LTE), traffic differentiation takes place in the network (also referred to as network-initiated bearer concept) for QoS control. In general, the network operator takes responsibility for setting up the appropriate set of bearers for an individual user terminal and for setting the associated bearer parameters.
For classifying data traffic (typically in the form of data packets) and assigning the classified data traffic to individual bearers, in the downlink direction packet filters (e.g., via Traffic Flow Templates, TFTs) or Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) may be applied. The network operator may also upload TFTs to the user terminal to assign data traffic to individual bearers in the uplink direction.
The network-initiated bearer concept has been motivated by the idea to not rely on the user terminal to autonomously decide about bearer assignments and bearer parameters for QoS enforcement. It has been found that developers of user terminal applications often do not have proper knowledge and experience to set bearer parameters and classify traffic for bearer assignment.
Today, an increasing amount of data traffic, such as Over-The-Top (OTT) Internet traffic, is encrypted. Often, end-to-end encryption technologies are used, which makes it difficult or even impossible for a network operator to apply packet filtering or DPI for classifying the data traffic in the network. Under such circumstances, possibilities of the network operator for providing QoS and QoE enhancements are significantly reduced.